The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued winter storm warnings for 12 states in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with extreme cold temperatures and up to 12 inches of snow forecast.
Additionally, a blast of frigid Arctic air continues to sweep other areas of the country, with extreme cold warnings effecting millions of people in the Northern Plains and Rockies and the Upper Midwest, where the NWS predicts “life threatening” wind chills as low as 55 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
Why It Matters
Snow can interfere with travel and create hazardous driving conditions, while winter storms can cause power outages.
Additionally, exposure to freezing wind chills can endanger life, with the forecast temperatures cold enough to cause hypothermia and frostbite on exposed skin in under 10 minutes.
What To Know
A map released by the NWS shows the warnings and watches currently in place. Pink means a winter storm warning is in place, and purple means there is a storm advisory. Dark blue means an extreme cold warning, and sky blue means a cold weather advisory.
Winter Storm
Storm warnings, shaded pink on the map, are in place in coastal Maine, southern New Hampshire, southern Vermont, the whole of Massachusetts and Connecticut, southern New York, northern New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, northern Maryland, Washington D.C., the whole of West Virginia, and in southwest Virginia, western North Carolina, and eastern Kentucky.
The warnings are in place until Monday morning. While the forecast varies from county to county, the worst hit area is expected to be Connecticut and Massachusetts, where 8 to 10 inches of snow accumulation is possible.
The storm conditions are expected to be so intense that Donald Trump decided to move his inauguration inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, saying he didn’t want “to see people hurt, or injured, in any way.” It will be the first time since Ronald Reagan was sworn in for a second term in 1985 that a president’s inauguration isn’t held at the Capitol’s West Front.
The NWS urges residents in affected areas to limit travel during severe weather and to carry emergency supplies such as flashlights, food and water. Motorists should prepare for sudden visibility changes, blizzard conditions, and icy roads.
Extreme Cold
Extreme cold warnings, shaded dark blue on the map, have been issued in 15 states.
Adjacent to the winter storm, freezing temperatures are forecast for southern Pennsylvania, southern West Virginia, western Virginia, western North Carolina, northwest Georgia, and northeast Alabama, with wind chills as low as 25 degrees below zero. These warnings are in place until noon Wednesday.
The Great Plains and Rockies and Upper Midwest will see devastating wind chills as low as 55 degrees below zero, which the NWS describes as “life threatening,” and able to cause frostbite on exposed skin in under 10 minutes. These warnings are in place until noon Tuesday.
The areas affected are southeast Idaho, western Montana, northwest, northeast, and southeast North Dakota, northeast South Dakota, northwest Nebraska, eastern Wyoming, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The wind chill temperature is how cold people and animals feel when outside in the elements. While the actual temperature of an area can be warmer, wind chill temperatures are based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold. As wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature, making the outside feel colder than it is.
What’s Next
The duration of the winter storm and extreme cold warnings varies from state to state, so please check with the NWS. Newsweek will keep you updated.
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